Kindness

The lesson in Relief Society today was on a subject I have been thinking about lately.

KINDNESS

The teacher made some points that deserve some thinking time.

1.  Kindness is a habit

2.  A kind person finds good in everyone

3.  A kind person is forgiving

4.  We should all nurture the spirit of love and kindness

5.  A kind person has a positive outlook

 By being kind, patient and forgiving 

we help soften hearts,

and encourage others to live righteously

Thank you Shelly for a great lesson.

Smiles

I attended a church class last week where the women got together and discussed a talk from a recent conference.

The subject was family love.

One of my friends made this statement:

SMILE.

 It is difficult to speak in an angry tone

 with a smile on your face.

How true.

Storms

I  know I have been absent for a while, sorry. 

Between home improvement projects, travel and holidays,

not to mention family, time has gotten away from me.  

I am not sure my time obligation will improve,

but a short something will have to do and I think I have a few.

Today's food for thought is printed and framed in my home.

I found it out in my stash of framed artwork a few weeks ago

and have been thinking about it eversince.

Today I hung it on the wall to give me inspiration

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass,

It's about learning to DANCE IN THE RAIN

It is a wet and stormy day here today

Cold wet days in February can get anybody down

It may be time to put on some dancing shoes

perfect summer day

Today was the perfect summer day.

It was neither hot nor cold--just perfect.

The grand children played happily in the yard

We had grilled corn and fresh fruit with lentils for dinner--easily made and cleaned up

The hammock beckoned as the ice cream maker did it's work

We took a delightful stroll through the neighborhood

The ice cream tasted delicious just before bath and bedtime

A happy, relaxing summer day

Perfect

The Great Out of Doors

Last week was a lot of hard work, but so much fun as I cooked, chatted and got to know the young women from church and their leaders as we camped and worked together. I had fun baking outside in the most amazing contraptions in order to offer brownies (from a cardboard box), a layered birthday cake (dutch oven), whole wheat bread and cinnamon swirl bread (plastic bin wonder oven). To me it is an adventure to go off the beaten path and try to be self sufficient when the norm is not available.

While I was away lounging in my hammock my sweet husband attacked the side porch. We have been using it for a long while as a workshop, the saw has been set up and the wood stacked for a quick place to prepare the next home improvement project. It has been wonderful, but slowly the sawdust was taking over, and what with the summer settling in, we needed to evict some critters who were becoming too comfortable and needed to be reminded that people live in houses and critters in the woods.

It was nice to come home and see the finished project, not to mention a place to put all of the camping gear while the washer goes through it's regiment to clean it all up again. My sweetheart and a yellow jacket had a stinging run-in while visiting on the porch, and the new refrigerator went kapoot and had to be dealt with (why do things break down just after the warranty runs out?)but all in all a great deal was accomplished outside last week.

The day I cam home from camp I had a house full of little ones waiting for me here at the house. They will be with us for two weeks and we are having fun teaching them the adventures of being outside at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We have been pulling weeds, planting flowers, strolling down the lane, playing slip and slide, swinging and having picnics, to their amazement, all outside. Cries of "it is hot" have been met with a quick shower from the hose and a tall glass of lemonade. We are learning together that there are a lot of fun things to do outside on a warm summer day. Winter is spent inside doing homework, summer sun calls for fun outside by the pool.

I have hung up the hammock and stocked the freezer with popsicles, it is time for summer relaxing.

What do you do when the days are long and warm?

Return and Report

I've been busy working on that to-do list I created for myself the other day.

Sometimes when I am overwhelmed I have found it helps if I write it all down and then start whittling away at the mountain until it becomes a mole hill I can live with.

With the help of my sweetheart we got the laundry folded and mostly put away. I've been working on cleaning out the cabinets and sorting through things I really do not need anymore. The repair man came to visit and after a bit of work and hot water things are functioning like they are supposed to. The small art brush and I have been friends today doing the touch up of straight paint lines.

I talked to a few friends yesterday and they still have their Christmas up so I decided not to worry about that today, maybe this weekend--besides--I love the tree lights at night.

While I was out paying the Tax Man yesterday I stopped to look for a 2011 calendar and found a pretty one for just $1--guess waiting until after the start of the year has a few benefits. I think I will set up a new household information center not in my kitchen, my ideas are still working on that one.

Yes, the mountain is becoming a size I can handle. I try to remember the little engine at times like this:

I think I can, I think I can!